To My Daughter

Dear Little Miss,

You are growing up so fast, and now you are six and a half years old. You are learning to read and write, and your intelligence astounds me. You keep me on my toes and challenge me to be a better person. For that, I thank you.

Today: you climbed into bed with us this morning, with your sweet little-girl smell and your tousled hair, and your beautiful sleepy smile. You tried to let us sleep by watching TV in the living room on your own, a beautiful, sweet gesture.

You are learning songs from various musicals for your school show, and some of them are from the movie Annie. So, I dug out my DVD copy of Annie and showed you the parts with the songs. You love the song Hard Knock Life...and I laughed so damn hard when you sang "It's a hard-knock life, for me" when I made you clean up your room! It's funny because I did the exact same thing when I was your age and my mom made me clean up my room!

Time is a funny thing. I sure never expected to show Annie, my favorite movie when I was six, to my six year old daughter. It sure is a sweet feeling, though, even if I did cry through the whole thing, for lost innocence and lost friends.

My hope, in writing this, is that these are the things I will remember about this day, and not all the frustrating things that happened between us, which are normal parts of growing up as mother and daughter together.

I love you, Little Miss, and I always will, no matter what.
Love,

Mommy